Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Humanist Contemplatives

I've been thinking for some time about starting up a small very informal club within my local Humanist group called the "Humanist Contemplatives Club". After talking over some of the details with the president, I have just placed a website online describing what the club is about, and announced it to my fellow Humanists.

The Humanist Contemplatives Club would be a local gathering of Humanists and other freethinkers with a focus on personal development and self improvement. It would be very inward looking and introspective. The tone of these gatherings would be more 'spiritual' than usual Humanist meetings. It might involve meditation, visits to thought provoking places, and sharing of ideas on what human spirituality means in a purely naturalistic context. It would also be more interpersonal than usual; with members sharing their challenges and giving one another moral support and ideas on meeting them. As such, debate, talk of politics, and criticism of religion would be avoided, as would be overly boisterous and off-topic discussion. A demeanor of solemnity, patience, and nonjudgmentalism would be encouraged.

Inspirations for our activities and philosophy will likely involve many secular philosophies, as well as Buddhism, Stoicism, and other spiritual traditions. Being a Humanist activity, all content is expected to be fully compatible with an empirical and naturalistic worldview.

Please note that this is a current and active blog, but its archive is a complete collection of all my previous blog websites, going back to 2004. Entries prior to December of 2010 may mention their original website locations or have links that were designed for them. For more information, please see, History of this Blog.